Springfield Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Milam County, there's a congregation with roots that run deep, real deep, going all the way back to 1872. That's the year members came together and established Springfield Missionary Baptist Church, under the guidance of the Reverend Riley Williams.

Now think about what 1872 means in this part of Texas. The ground they chose, they chose it with purpose. And here's the thing that'll stay with you: that is the same ground they're still meeting on today.

Buildings have come and gone, as buildings do, but that land has held. The congregation has held. In the African American community of Milam County, Springfield has been more than a church.

It's been a focal point, a gathering place, the kind of institution that anchors a people to a place and to each other. Through local programs, through missions work that reached further than the county line, through partnerships with other churches and associations, through annual programs year after year, this congregation has kept reachin' outward even as it held its center firm. The marker notes that Springfield was founded shortly after the town of Rockdale itself got its start, which tells you something about the people who built it.

They weren't waiting for an invitation. They were building something of their own, on their own land, from the very beginning. And more than a century and three decades on from that founding year, the official record says the same thing the community already knew: Springfield Missionary Baptist Church continues to be a positive force.

Some things, turns out, you just don't have to take on faith.

What the marker says

Members established this church in 1872, under the guidance of the Rev. Riley Williams. Though buildings have changed, the congregation still gather son the same land they met on that year. Members have emphasized outreach through both local programs and more encompassing missions work. They have also contributed to the community by working with various churches and associations and by producing annual programs. Additionally, the church has served as a focal point for social and religious gatherings in the African American community. Founded shortly after the town of Rockdale, the church continues to be a positive force in the community. (2006)